Evil Peer Pressure

This one is for you, Jenny O., Jenn G. & Aimee C.

I am so sore I could hardly raise my arms up to wash my hair!

Why, you may ask? What would I do to myself that would cause that much pain?? I paid good money to do this to myself.

Two words.

BOOT CAMP.

I gave into peer pressure. I don't do 6:00 a.m. The class is at 6:00 a.m. I don't do running. There's a lot of running. What was I thinking!!! Those three slavedrivers kept telling me I could do it. So here I am, day three of boot camp, barely able to brush my hair.

I hate to say it, but I actually kindof like it. Tim forgot to set the alarm for this morning, and I woke up one minute before it was supposed to go off. I'm already warped for good. Hopefully my booty will appreciate all this hard work.

Baby News

It's A Boy!!!

We got a puppy last night! He is just adorable.

You can almost smell his puppy breath in this picture!

Alec has been asking for a pet for a while. He told me that all he wants for Christmas is a pet. A dog or a lizard. "I'd take a cat, but I'm more of a dog person."

Tim & I weren't sure we really wanted another pet, but it's a big deal to a kid. I told Tim that I wouldn't get another dog if it meant it had to stay outside all the time. A while back, I suggested we get a small one that doesn't shed too much (hopefully). We could train it to sleep in a kennel inside... then I left it alone. On Saturday, Tim surprised me by saying he'd been looking up different small dog breeds he liked. I was completely shocked! Then, he pulled up the classified ads online, and there was this new ad, only on for 2 hours, with the sweetest little puppy picture. It was love at first sight! I had to have him!

He is such a great puppy! He is 10 weeks old, and a Welsh Corgi/Rat Terrier mix. I had a Welsh Corgi mix dog growing up, and I loved him! Cooper (which is the name we are trying out...) is playful, but not crazy playful. He loves our kids and is very good natured. He slept great in the kennel last night (cross my fingers for continued success) and is working on the potty stuff. All in all, he is just about perfect!

Family Pictures

So are my kids sick of my camera addiction yet?? I sure hope not, because they are my favorite subjects!!! We drove up the canyon last week and I saw this red bridge over a river. Oh, yeah... Perfect! We had to come back.

My jack-o-lantern Alec, is losing all his front teeth just in time for Halloween!

Lily was on one. Megan and I were looking through the pictures on the computer, and all these silly pictures of Lily came up. Megan said it all. "Stinker. Stinker."

Lily started posing herself. "What if I did this?"

I think I've created a monster...

Megan is actually getting a lot better for pictures. What a cutie!

I loved these Daddy's Girls pictures!

Tim is such a loving father.

My sister-in-law, Heidi, came up and took some family pictures for us.

I think they are great! She is the one who got me started on this crazy photo hobby, anyway. Thank you so much!

Two Years Young!

My baby is turning into a little girl! Just within the last couple of weeks, she has really grown in her speech, and understanding and following directions. She has such a spunky little personality, if you can't tell from these pictures! She makes us all laugh.

She has been a much happier person since she got all her teeth. Can I tell you that I HATE teething! Megan's seemed to take forever, and she was so ornery- we're talking months. It was hard on all of us. But now, she is much easier and happier. Yay!

She loves her family. She loves to snuggle and be rocked (which I love, too). She adores her brother and sister, and they love to make her laugh! She gets so excited when her daddy comes home- she runs for him with her arms out ready to be scooped up in a hug. She makes our family so happy!

Here are some pictures of her room makeover. Before:

And After:

I decided that I wanted to paint big flowers on the walls. They turned out pretty fun! I also wanted to make it special for my two sweet girls.

I know, I know. I don't have enough to do...

I LOVE YOU, MEGAN!

You are my little sweetheart, and I'm so glad to be your mom!

Stupid me, and my cute kids.

So, I've been remodeling the kids' rooms. I know, I know, I must not have enough to do already... and I'm stupid. I decided that it was time to move Megan into the toddler bed, and move Lily into a twin bed (she was still in the toddler bed- she doesn't grow!!). Stupid, stupid, stupid. What was wrong with the crib?? NOTHING!

These were my thoughts the first night of Megan in her "Big Girl Bed" as she is crying and screaming forever, and keeps getting out of bed. Plus, since we got new bunk beds for Alec & Lily, and a new dresser for Megan, now I have to paint both rooms. My house is in complete disarray, and I'M TIRED!!!

Day Two of Stupid Toddler Bed.

Megan falls asleep in the car about noon (yes, I planned that. I'm getting a little smarter). Put her in toddler bed and shut door. She takes 4 hour nap (well, she didn't sleep much that night. duh.) Wakes up happy and talking about Big Girl Bed.

Bedtime. Lay her in bed and walk out while she's screaming!!! She cries for less that one minute, and sleeps soundly all night. Hallelujah!

Day Three of Okay Toddler Bed.

Naptime & Bedtime. Lay her down and walk out. She cries for less than 10 seconds. Touchdown!!!

Day Four of Wonderful "Big Girl Bed."

NO Crying!!! Love it!!

So now I can finish painting! (pictures to come soon... relatively soon, anyway...) As I'm painting, I decide I want to put up new pictures in their rooms, and realize that it's supposed to be raining and gray. I loved the picture I had of Lily, but wanted a better shot of Megan and Alec. Ah! Hurry and take the kids out to the garage and hang up my white sheet.

It's a good thing my kids are patient with my craziness! I sure love them!

Ruining My Day

Lily came home from preschool today and said,

"Those boys that I don't know were being mean

and ruining my day.

They ruined every girls' day.

They just don't like girls."

Where does she get this? I don't say that! It just made me laugh.

We also just got cool bunk beds

with the desk and drawers underneath.

Lily was so excited she told me,

"You made my heart happy.

You're my best mom in the whole world."

I think I'll keep her.

My apologies to Elton John...

A couple of weeks ago my family- along with brothers, sisters, cousins & grandma & grandpa, all went to St. George for the weekend (nice job planning it, Candi!). We were able to get great tickets to see Aida at the Tuacahn theater (thanks Steph!). I didn't know what Aida was about. I just knew that the several other plays that we've seen at Tuacahn were just incredible! So, I didn't even hesitate to buy tickets for it.

Then I see the posters for the play:

Elton John. Elton John?? Aw man. He's right up there with Neil Diamond for me. Blah Blah Blah!!! I can't stand either of them!

I would rather listen to sports radio than listen to them.

So with much trepidation, we go sit in our seats. The play starts. The music is... well, GREAT! I mean, as far as musicals and plays go,

I LOVED IT!!! We took all the kids, and boy, it had everyone covered. There were soldiers and fighting for the boys, there were princesses and love for the girls, and Megan just loved all the clapping after the songs. She got so excited when everyone clapped all the time. And, she especially loved the real live horses that pulled out a chariot on stage, and a camel that brought in a belly dancer. She was waving to them and clapping her little hands! I LOVE Tuacahn! It is an outdoor theater so they can do fantastic things. They even do Elton John well.

We had to go say Hi to the princesses...

Oh, and the captain of the guards, too. :)

We were also able to go visit Tim's grandma while we were down there. We haven't been to visit her in a long time, so it was so nice to see her.

She even let me take a picture of her.

She is such a sweet and giving grandma. We love you!

Preschool Diva

To say that Lily has been excited to start preschool would be a slight understatement. Okay, a HUGE understatement! She picked out her outfit. (We found the hot pink cowgirl boots for Halloween, but just HAD to wear them today... Love it!) She instructed me on how to do her hair. Grabbed the Barbie backpack, and we were off!!

Our neighbor & best friend, Hailee, is in the same class.

How lucky can you get?

This reminded me of Napolean Dynamite. I had to put it in.

So what did I do with just one child, you may ask? Megan & I actually went to the gym and I was able to stay for the entire yoga class without Megan making a scene in the nursery!!!

What a great day!

Florida, Florida

Alec: "I wish we lived in Florida so we could have lizards and frogs in our grass."

Is that the greatest thing ever? To have to be careful where you walk, especially early or late in the day, because there are lizards running everywhere? And "Keep the house doors closed so lizards don't run inside!" The obvious answer is, YES!!!

We had such a fun time visiting my sister, Candi and her family! It almost makes me want to move there... hmm... palm trees...the beach... Oh, yeah ... hurricanes ...banana spiders (more on thoses later, wa ha...)

We LOVED the beach by their house!

It was so much fun to go snorkeling & see so many fish.

The water wasn't that deep, and we weren't out that far. You put on a snorkel mask, and Holy Cow! There are fish everywhere! So amazing. Kind of creepy. Fish swimming around your feet and you didn't even realize it. I even saw a barracuda a little way off. Even creepier.

We went to the nature park by their house. It is very cool!

All over the board walk in the nature center are these big Banana Spiders. Really Creepy!! There are hundreds of them everywhere you look. Over the path, on the sides, between the railings... Supposedly they are non-poisonous, but it still made you feel weird walking under all their huge webs. Check out my Shot Blog for more nature center pics!

Now, you may be wondering. "Is it hot in Florida during August?" For the answer, look at Megan's hair. She is completely soaked from walking around in the shade! We felt like we were literally melting.

Sydney had a birthday while we were there, and the kids got to go horseback riding for her party. Lucky!!

Alec not so sure about this.

Tate is doing great!

Now, here's Cole riding Cooper the miniature pony. It was so great!

Lily has told me for the last 6 months that she wants to be a "Pony Rider" when she grows up. Well, now she has actually ridden a pony! Way to go Lily!

Florida 2009 Slideshow

Flaming Gorge

Every year Tim's family returns to Flaming Gorge. The water is FREEZING, but so perfect for waterskiing! Here is our campground nestled beneath the mountains. (If you look closely, you can see little boats.)

Tim wakeboarding in the canyons. It is so beautiful!

Tamara & I tubing.

Here I go!! Notice I'm still hanging on! I LOVE looking at crash pictures. I can't help it! They make me happy.

Tim cliff jumping. Woo Hoo!

I've decided that camping was a lot more fun before worrying about three little kids. It's a lot of work now! It's worth it, though. Right?? All those good memories, and stuff...